Just before Christmas, here's a post on the final episodes of Peter Capaldi's second season as Doctor Who. The final episodes concluded the "Reckless Clara" and Hybrid arcs , with return engagements for the enigmatic immortal Ashildr.
"You must NOT watch this!"
Sleep No More was a found-footage twist on the Base Under Siege model. Set on a space station near Neptune, in an era where an Indo-Japan power bloc had chosen to make sleep optional, Mark Gatiss' story, to my dismay, appeared to depict the Doctor's failure. Also, aside from one final memorable scene of horror, the episode suffered failure to launch.
"Let me be brave!"
Face The Raven had more than a flavour of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley in an allegory about refugees. This Gaiman-esque episode saw the Doctor lured into a sophisticated trap by Lady Me. Clara, who has had as many deaths and resurrections as Rory Williams, appeared to be written out at last, undone by her Doctor-ish bravado.
"This is theatre. It's all about fear".
The Doctor spends two billion years trying to escape from the world within the Confession Dial. Heaven Sent, effectively an extended monologue for Capaldi, set Twitter afire with rapturous responses but I found this haunted house episode sluggish and draining.
"Hope is a terrible thing on the scaffold."
By comparison, Twitter gave quite a mixed reception to the concluding episode Hell Bent, much of which I found quite exciting. A dangerous Doctor broke out of the Time Lords' torture chamber for a Spaghetti Western-style showdown with President Rassilon. The Impossible Girl was restored (huh!) and fled into space and time with The Woman Who Lived in a stolen and classically cool Tardis.
I had found myself in November questioning whether Capaldi should be replaced and a less self-consciously mould-breaking approach taken to save the show. By the end of the series, however, I applauded the old punk magician's acting chops and the boldness of the storytelling choices made by Moffat.
Still, it would be fair to say I have found more enjoyment of the Doctor's adventures on audio in the last month or so. In the spirit of the legendary Five Faces... repeat season of November 1981, I chose three Big Finish releases for the first three Classic Doctors.
The Doctor's Tale: the second release in 2014's Early Adventures strand is a medieval exploit for the First Doctor, in the era of Henry IV. Marc Platt references his own Flames of Cadiz in this not-dissimilar tale, substituting Cervantes with Geoffrey Chaucer.
It's very much in the vein of tv historicals like The Crusade/The Crusaders although there's little peril until the latter episodes. It's beautifully performed by William "Ian" Russell and Maureen "Vicki" O'Brien and, although a little slow in terms of pace, it's a haunting and wintry tale of intrigue.
A more recent Early Adventure, The Forsaken , is a very surprising listen. It's a gripping story of jungle pursuit from Justin Richards, whose work as the Terrance Dicks de nos jours has often been lifeless and humdrum. This is a wartime adventure of the Second Doctor, voiced here uncannily as ever by Frazer Hines. It's set on an island near Singapore where sailor Ben meets his own father as a young man.
The Tardis crew are stalked in an ex-pats' hotel by an alien shape-shifter which feeds on fear. The cast has a lovely dynamic: Elliot Chapman returns to the role of Ben and satisfyingly pays homage to the late Michael Craze. My only complaint is that the actor who plays James Jackson is, by necessity of plot, difficult to distinguish from his adult "son".
The Mega by Bill "Zarbi" Strutton is the final "Lost Adventure" from Big Finish and is very much a change of pace in the Third Doctor's exile. It's narrated by Katy "Jo" Manning and Richard "Yates" Franklin and is much longer than the usual audio plays.
The Ruritanian-style kingdom of Golbasto is the setting for a political thriller about terrorism, student protestors and alien collaborators, where the Prime Minister is assassinated on live tv and smart weapons target civilians.
While Franklin's attempt to capture Benton's Wiltshire accent is a little disconcerting, I'm in a minority, finding Katy's gruff evocation of Pertwee actually preferable to Welshman Tim Treloar .http://somefantasticplace-dougie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/you-cant-handle-lapels-thing.html
This is a charming evocation of early-70s Who but the capture-and-escape routine flags in the middle and the giant, electrical aliens "look"- or rather sound-a little silly.
Next time: The Ghosts of Christmas Presents
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